Guardian Angel Vol 4: A Bigger World
by Thedragoness821
Summary: Summary: It has been almost six months since the tragic events that befell the group, things with the Saviors have settled into an uneasy co-existence that leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth, especially Rick's. This is the 4th installment in the Guardian Angel series. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 _Notes: Well, we are back with the 4th installment in the Guardian Angel series (the first three can be found on my page, as I have said before, if you havent read them, I highly suggest you do)! I am sorry it's been so long … I have been really busy IRL. Yes, I know the last chapter was very, very sad. I promise, it will get a bit better for a while because honestly, I am tired of all the sad, as I am sure all my readers are, too and I think the characters deserve a little time to kind of regroup, heal their wounds and mend rifts. Okay with that said, on to the summary._

 _Summary: It has been almost six months since the tragic events of Glenn's death, things with the Saviors have settled into an uneasy co-existence; one that leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth, especially Rick's. Sorry for the ambiguity, but I am afraid if I say any more I will give it away._

* * *

Maggie stood in front of the mirror in her house, her hand over her stomach. She was now starting to show, and her clothes no longer fit, she was forced to wear the same pair of sweatpants every day, of course she washed them twice a week, but after a month of this, they were starting to wear out.

She hated putting others in danger just so she could have clothes, she hated not being able to go herself, but she could no longer run like hell if things went to shit … and things always went to shit, especially because there were more walkers now … and they were hungry, and they wasted no time in swarming any scouting parties that went out.

"Hey girl, you okay?" Michonne's voice broke into her thoughts.

Maggie forced a smile at her as Michonne's reflection joined hers in the mirror. "Yeah I'm okay … I just … I hate this, you know? I hate knowing that others are risking their lives just so I can have some new fucking clothes." Maggie said as she rubbed her eyes wearily.

"Well, those sweatpants are about to rot off you, and I know it's gonna be summer soon and all, but we can't have you walking around naked can we?" Michonne replied as she flashed her a coy smile, Maggie laughed in spite of herself.

"Is it you going this time?" Maggie asked, Michonne shook her head.

"Naw, Rick's got me and Sasha on watch. It'll be Daryl, Carl, and Charlotte this time." Michonne said.

"Ah." Maggie said, averting her eyes at the mention of Charlotte's name; they hadn't spoken since Glenn's murder. She knew it was terrible to feel this way, to put the blame on Charlotte and to a lesser extent, Daryl for what happened, but she just couldn't help it. She had so much bitterness, animosity, and agony over losing the one person she had ever truly loved in this life that it had to go somewhere. Factor in that she was riding on an emotional roller coaster of pregnancy hormones right now and it was a recipe for a serious emotional shit storm.

* * *

"HEY! Did you hear anything I said, or what!?" Carl's voice broke into Charlotte's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh … yeah … sure, whatever." Charlotte said distractedly as she tossed the empty duffels into the trunk of the Tucson.

"We all set, or what?" She asked them sharply, they nodded, exchanging worried looks behind her back as they piled into the Tucson.

It was a silent and albeit awkward drive that lasted the whole day and they were about to lose the light as they finally pulled into the rotting remains of a city that once had a name, but had long since been forgotten. Daryl, who had opted to drive stole glances at Charlotte in the passenger seat, the outline of her face was barely visible in the quickly fading light.

"We have to find somewhere to stay tonight, I don't think we're going to make it." Carl said from the back seat.

"Well … this seems as good a place as any." Daryl said as they pulled up to a small gas station.

"Ready?" He asked them.

"Hell yeah! Let's do it!" Carl said as he pulled out his pistol and screwed on the silencer.

Daryl chuckled in spite of himself as they entered the small gas station, there were two walkers locked inside, but they were severely emaciated and weak and they made quick work of them.

The place was pretty well cleaned out, but it had an iron security cage and bars on the windows, and it would do for the night.

"I'll take first watch." Carl said as he fetched a chair from behind the counter, plopped into it and propped his feet up on the barred window with his gun across his lap.

"You know the drill, wake me up in four hours." Charlotte said as she retreated to the back of the store to try and get some shut eye with Daryl following close behind.

"We need to talk." Daryl said.

"About what?" Charlotte said, not facing him as she rolled out her sleeping bag and fashioned her pack to use as a pillow, her expression was hidden by the darkness, but he could hear the angst in her voice.

Daryl gripped her arms and forced her to face him.

"You know what, why you volunteered to do this." Daryl said as he pinned her with his intense stare, his brilliant blue eyes eerily visible in the darkness.

"Because, it's the right thing to do, regardless of my personal feelings ." She replied.

Daryl's expression softened as he placed his hand on her cheek, her ability to put her own feelings aside never ceased to amaze him.

"You're a badass bitch, ya know that?" He said.

"So you keep telling me." She chuckled.

"I'll keep telling it to you til you believe it." He replied.

* * *

At first light they were off again, Charlotte drove this time, Daryl rode shotgun, Carl was in the back, his gun drawn, just in case things went south.

Walkers were already starting to make their appearance as they slowly made their way through the decaying city towards the huge mall at the center of town. The large building loomed in front of them like a sleeping monster against the dull grey clouds of the early spring sky.

Spring was always dull and grey here, it was when this region saw most of its rain, it also meant four wheel drive and all-wheel drive only until the mud from the spring storms and the winter snow melt dried up.

There was no fence around the huge mall, which meant that anything could be inside.

"No way of tellin' just how many walkers are in there." Carl said as he cupped his hands around his eyes and tried to peer through the mall's filthy windows.

"Well, those doors are automatic, they've likely been locked since this all began, so maybe we'll get lucky that we'll only have to deal with the employees that might have been working there." Charlotte said.

"Can ya break em?" Daryl asked.

"Yeah, but it'll be noisy, it might trap us." She replied.

"I think I have a better idea." Carl said as he pointed to a tunnel, blocked by a security arm leading to the underground parking, normally used as overflow parking, and employee parking.

"I don' know if I like that better, if we get up a shit creek, it'll be like a death trap." Daryl said as he eyed their surroundings warily.

"I don't know if we have a better choice, since breaking those doors is gonna make a hell of a lot of noise, and there will be no way to get them closed again, same shit creek." Carl replied.

"Well, then it looks like we're taking the low road." She said as she walked up to the arm, thankfully for them, it would be very easy to disassemble.

"I can have this off in five minutes, no muss, no fuss." Charlotte said as she dug into her bag for a wrench.

Charlotte had been right, in five minutes exactly (Carl had timed her for fun) the arm came off in Carl's hands.

"Now let's go, we've been out here too long already, and our scent's bound to start drifting." Charlotte said as they piled into the Tucson and drive slowly down into the underground parking.

"Look!" Charlotte said as she pointed to a set of double doors.

"That's probably a service entrance let's hope it isn't automatic, if it isn't I can break it with a screwdriver … or at least I should be able to." Charlotte said as she walked forward, digging out her flathead as she went.

The universe seemed to take pity on them, and they were manual doors, Charlotte stuck her screwdriver into the rusted lock and it broke without much resistance.

They filed in quickly and quietly in line like a SWAT team with their walker killing weapons at the ready, just in case. They did run into a few walkers, former mall employees, just like they had suspected. They slowly climbed the service stairs up to the first floor.

"Well, here goes nothing." Charlotte said as she opened the door and took a peek, seeing that the coast was clear, she motioned to the others and eased her way through onto the first floor of the mall.

"Holy shit! There's no one here, no walkers, nothing!" Carl said as they looked around to find the mall probably as everyone left it when they fled all that time ago.

"This is too good to be true, it just has to be!" Charlotte said as they walked along looking into the windows of the closed shops, which looked much like the main mall, untouched, likely because the overrun city kept people at bay.

She should have kept her mouth shut, because just then, the impacts of the walker's bodies against the glass of the closed up stores echoed through the deserted mall.

Even though it was daylight out, very little light filtered in through the skylights in the mall's ceiling, but from what they could make out, the walkers were people who had once worked there.

"Shit, I guess when things went to hell, they just … locked themselves up in their stores cause they were scared." Charlotte said as she put her hand on the glass of what used to be an American Eagle store. The female walker behind the glass, a petite girl that wasn't much taller than Charlotte growled and gnashed her teeth uselessly at her hand.

"Come on, they're ain't nothin' more we can do for em, best thing now is to put em out of their misery." Daryl said as he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Some people just aren't made for this world." Carl said callously as he readied his axes. Charlotte looked at him, shocked at the cold tone of his words.

"He's right, let's just hurry up and get it done." Daryl said.

"Everyone ready?" Charlotte asked, both Carl and Daryl nodded, and Charlotte broke the lock on the metal security gate and pulled it up. Five or so walkers stumbled out, weak and emaciated and started for them, the three experienced survivors made quick work of them.

They went store to store on the first floor, opening them up and taking out whatever walkers were inside, some had as many as ten, other didn't have any.

"That should do it for now." Daryl said, wiping his sweaty brow, they had cleared almost every store on the lower level, including a gym, and a Bass Pro Shops.

"Come on, I say we all see what we can find to get clean, because I don't know about anyone else, but I want to get this walker blood off me." Charlotte said as she led the way into a Ross to look for some new clothes and soap of some kind. She grabbed a hand basket on her way into the store and made her way to the hair and body care section first.

"Too bad bath and body works is on the second level, I'd _love_ to have some stuff from there again, it's been so long." She said more to herself than the others as she picked through the soaps and decided on a 3-in-1 for hair and body, it was for men, but what did she care?

"Here." She said as she tossed one to Daryl and Carl. "Now let's hit up the gym's showers."

"These are … nice." Carl said as they all stood in the showering area, one side was for men, the other for women, but what did it matter in this world they now lived in.

"I'll take this side, and you two can have the other side to yourselves. Just you know … try to keep it down? It's not like I can have a radio or anything to drown the two of you out." Carl said dryly as he disappeared into the men's side with a towel slung over his shoulder.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say that boy knows us better than we know ourselves!" Charlotte said, as soon as the door closed behind them, Daryl pulled her close.

"Let's not make em' wrong." He growled into her ear.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Carl was waiting for them in the gift shop of the gym when they finally emerged, Carl merely rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What? Hey I never know when my last day on this hell we now call Earth will be, so forgive me if I want to make every moment count." Charlotte said.

Carl and Daryl said nothing, but they did exchange a look, and it wasn't missed by Charlotte.

"Look … I'm sorry to be a Debby Downer, but it's just a fact, hell even when the world was _right_ , tomorrow wasn't ever a given." She said, Carl opened his mouth to retort, but what could he say? She was right.

"Well, I say we poke around here and see what we can find." Carl interjected in an effort to change the graveness of the subject.

"Sounds like a plan." Charlotte said as she grabbed her radio. "Everyone get on channel three in case anyone runs into trouble."

Charlotte couldn't believe their luck, the store looked like it hadn't so much been touched since everything began! She prowled the shoe department, the hiking boots she took from the mansion were finally starting to fall apart, after almost a year of faithful service.

She settled on a nice pair of Nike running shoes that would have set her back hundreds of dollars back in the day, too bad this whole mess had happened during summer, because she would have loved a pair of winter boots, too.

She browsed the clothing section and peeled off her old, worn clothes in favor of some new getup that consisted of a pair of knee length Under Armor jogging leggings and a trendy tank top. She picked up another two outfits and another pair of sneakers.

When they all met back at the front of the store, Charlotte saw the boys had also opted for new clothes. Charlotte grinned to herself as Daryl's intense blue eyes traveled the length of her body, clearly he approved of her new outfit.

"Damn, Charlotte … you look … _hot_!" Carl said as he joined them.

Charlotte laughed heartily at the horrified, indignant look that Daryl shot towards Carl.

"Why thank you, Carl, I am glad you approve … _both_ of you." She said, her gaze stopping on Daryl as she gave him a playful wink, causing him to blush in spite of himself.

"Well, sun's up, what do ya'll say we check out the other stores? I know there is a bass pro, maybe they still have some winter stuff. We are going to need to stock up again, since all you damn kids keep fucking growing and shit. Especially you Carl, shit if the world hadn't ended, you might have been one hell of a basketball player. I think I also saw a maternity store on the way, we can get some clothes for Maggie while we're at it." Charlotte said as she let the way out into the mall.

* * *

"You know they aren't going to be back for several days, yet, they told us that." Rick said, joining Maggie as she watched the road beyond the front gate.

"I know I just … I feel terrible! I've such a bitch to Daryl and Charlotte since … "Maggie trailed off as tears welled up in her eyes, Rick put his arm around her.

"You lost someone close to you! It affects everyone differently, and you don't get to decide how. Remember when Lori died, how I was for a while? I mean, I was talking to dead people on the phone! Andrea became suicidal, and Michonne became a bad, ass kicking bitch." Rick said, and Maggie chuckled through her tears.

"If anything, you should be proud of Glenn's bravery, Maggie. He saw how devastated Daryl was when he thought he had watched Charlotte die the first time, and how it almost destroyed him, we _all_ did. The difference was that he was the only one brave enough to do anything about it, the rest of us just … _stood_ there, me included." Rick said as his face fell.

"That was Glenn, always trying to do the right thing, no matter what the cost." Maggie replied through her tears.

"Glenn was one of my closest and most trusted friends, and this is not how he would want you to live, full of spite and hate towards people who haven't earned it."

"You're right … you're right! Oh god! What have I been _doing_!" Maggie said as she sobbed into her hands.

"You have been grieving, and you are pregnant, and trust me, Charlotte will understand, she's cool like that." Rick said as he offered her a reassuring smile. He knew Charlotte would forgive and forget, she was very much a 'water under the bridge' type of person, it was Daryl he wasn't so sure would let it go so easily, but he chose to keep that to himself.

* * *

"Charlotte! I think you got enough! Any more and we ain't gonna be able to carry it!" Daryl said as he yanked the bag away from her and slung it over his shoulder with a grunt.

"I think we should go, we've been here to long already." Carl said.

" _Finally_ someone's makin' sense round here!" Daryl replied.

"Okay … okay … we'll go! I just have to make one more stop, first." She said with a wink as she took off down the walkway of the mall with the boys in hot pursuit.

"Awww shit! Shoulda known." Daryl said as they came to a skidding stop in front of the bath and body works store.

"It's a woman thing; just …bear with me, okay?" Charlotte said as she broke the rusted lock on the security gate and pulled it up. Luckily, there were no walkers inside this store, strangely enough, maybe their employees had been smart enough to get out before shit got really bad.

Charlotte wasted no time and started piling body wash, perfume spray, and as many candles as she could into the other bag she brought.

"Okay, _now_ we can go." She said with a wink.

There were a few walkers around their car, but nothing they couldn't handle, but they noticed a large herd heading their way as they exited the underground garage.

"Shit! We sure cut that close!" Carl said as he looked out the passenger window at them.

"Close only counts in the back seat of a car." Charlotte said as she turned onto the highway toward home.

"Son of a bitch, It'll be fucking dark by the time we get there." Daryl said moodily from the back seat.

"Wanna bet?" Charlotte said as she eyed him in the rear view mirror and put her foot down on the gas.

* * *

"Vehicle approaching!" Sasha said as she looked through her scope.

"It's all good, it's them!" Michonne said as she waved to the person manning the front gate.

"See? Told ya we'd make it back before dark." Charlotte said to Daryl with a wink as they all exited the car, just as the entire group gathered around.

"Now, now, no need for shovin' there's plenty for everyone, just make sure you hide this stuff when it's time for the monthly give away, if you know what I mean." Charlotte said as she started handing out clothing and supplies to everyone.

"hey, can you handle this? There's something I've got to do." Charlotte asked Sasha.

"Yeah … sure." She said as Charlotte grabbed a duffel bag and headed off towards Maggie's house.

To her surprise, Maggie opened the door for her before she even had a chance to knock.

"Please, come in." She said.

Daryl watched Charlotte disappear into Maggie's house as he waited for the women, kids and the elderly to get their supplies.

"She'll be fine, trust me, that little woman knows how to take care of herself." Rick said as he came to stand beside him.

"I know I jus' … sometimes I wish I could be like that you know? Just … up and forgive someone, but I can't. I stay sore 'bout it for a long time." Daryl said.

Rick looked at him with a slightly surprised expression. Even though he and Daryl were as close as brothers, Daryl rarely confided in him about anything, usually he would almost have to beat it out of him.

"She's one in a million, Daryl. I am sure I' am not telling you something you don't already know, but you are the luckiest man on the whole god damned planet to have ended up with her." Rick replied.

Daryl said nothing, but a line of silent understanding passed between the two men.

* * *

"Charlotte I just …. Oh god, where do I start? I've been such a huge bitch, can you ever forgive me?" Maggie said as tears welled up in her eyes.

Charlotte waved her concern off.

"Don't even worry about it! You've been through hell, too. I wallowed in self-pity for a long time after I lost my eye, and then my sister was killed. Good thing I was alone back then because I probably wasn't a very pleasant person to be around, either." She said as she handed her the duffel.

"This should hold you for a while." She said.

"I hate to think the risks you took to get all this." Maggie said as she pulled out several outfits, candles, and some body wash and perfume spray from bath and body works.

"Now you can finally throw those ratty ass pants away." She said with a smile as she let herself out.

* * *

"Everything okay?" Daryl asked her as she walked through the door of their house.

"Yep, everything's okay now." She said as she plopped down on the couch.

"It's times like this I wish there was still TV to watch, I won't lie, sometimes I really miss it." She said as she swung her feet up onto the couch and laid back against the cushy pillows.

Daryl leaned over her, his face so close that their noses were almost touching.

"TV ain't the only entertainment nowadays." He said, his voice laden with desire.

"You're are one shameless, horny bastard, you know that?" She said, a smile playing about her mouth.

"Yeah, but you _like_ it." He said as he flashed her a wolfish grin.

"You know me so well." She replied as she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.

* * *

Rick and Daryl watched as Dwight drove through the gates and pulled up to the gazebo.

"Hey Rick, Daryl." Dwight said as he exited his vehicle, a commandeered military issue hummer.

"Half of everything, just like we promised." Rick said as he pulled the tailgate down on their truck, an empathetic look crossed Dwight's face.

"I'm really sorry about this, Rick, you have to believe me, I don't like doing this anymore than you do."

"Then why keep workin' for the asshole?" Daryl spat, Rick put his hand on Daryl's shoulder and shook his head in warning.

Because, I don't have a choice, none of us do. There are some of the Saviors that _like_ this kind of shit, but secretly, most of us don't, but it doesn't matter, once he recruits you, you're fucked. The only way you get out is if you're dead. And even if he didn't kill you, it's not like a man can make it on his own anymore." Dwight said.

Rick suddenly had an idea.

"Just how many of the Saviors don't agree with how things are?" Rick asked

"I'd have to ask around, but if I had to say about half, maybe more." Dwight said.

"Can you talk to them without being found out?" Rick asked, his tone urgent.

"I'm sure I could." Dwight replied as they loaded the last of the supplies into Dwight's hummer.

"I really hope you believe that I don't like doing this anymore than you do, Rick and I hope we can figure out a solution." Dwight said as they all shook hands.

"D 'ya really think that he can rally the Saviors?" Daryl asked as they watched his hummer disappear down the road toward the front gate.

"Let's hope so, because that's the only way we are going to take that asshole down." Rick replied.


	3. Chapter 3

**chapter 3**

* * *

"Hey, you ya doin'?" Michonne asked as she noticed the faraway look on Charlotte's face.

"Huh? Oh … I'm good I just …."

"You're worried bout Daryl."

Charlotte blew out a sigh and grinned sheepishly at her friend.

"That obvious, huh?" She replied.

Michonne shot her a wry look in reply.

"I just … I know he has to do it, you know? Like how we have to go out on supply runs, and scouting missions, but it scares the fuck out of me every time he goes, knowing that asshole and his dogs are out there. And I'm stuck here on watch duty because _that's what Rick wants_." Charlotte said, she injected some venom into her tone at the last part of her sentence.

"Did I ever tell you that before all this happened, I had a fiancé, and a son?" Michonne replied abruptly.

Charlotte eyed her with rapt attention. "No!" she breathed.

Michonne got a faraway, nostalgic look on her face as her mind drifted into the past. "Yep, his name was Andre. We held up in my apartment for as long as we could, but as you know, things got bad real quick in the city, and we had to leave." Michonne paused as a surge of emotion hit her, and tears welled up in her eyes.

"People had talked about a rumored safe haven at Fort Benning, but we never made it. We had made camp on the outskirts of the city, and a herd of walkers moved through. They …. They took Andre … Mike and Terry got bit trying to save him. I took care of them until they turned, and I just … kept them with me. They became kind of like my body guards, the walkers didn't seem to notice me as much with them around." She finished as she wiped away the tears that were streaming down her face.

"Oh, Michonne, I had no idea, I'm so sorry!" Charlotte said, Michonne met her gaze and the hard look of a warrior was back in place.

"I told you so you know that I understand what you are going through, the worry when your loved ones go away. I was always worried sick when Mike or Terry went on supply runs to the city … sometimes I would have to go, and they worried the same for me. I know everyone thinks I am just some hard ass bitch … but that's not _all_ of who I am … that's who I had to _become_ to survive."

Then Michonne's expression turned playful. "Shit, girl, you think _you_ worry? You should see Daryl when Rick sends _you_ out on runs. That boy loves you to death, Charlotte …and I think Rick sends Daryl out more because you take it better than he does. I think it's because he almost lost you once, and it almost killed him." She said.

Charlotte sighed. "Yeah, I know … and it's on my mind every time I have to go out, I worry that I won't … you know … come back. Not because I'm scared for me, because I'm scared for _him_."

Michonne didn't respond, she simply put her arm around Charlotte's shoulders and they both stood there, silently comforting one another.

* * *

Daryl crept through the woods, tracking the deer had had wounded with a bolt from his crossbow and praying he found it before a herd of walkers did. They had more people to feed now in Alexandria and they desperately needed the meat.

It was as if the universe decided to take pity on them in this cruel world, because he came to a clearing and there it was, blood seeping from the wound in its shoulder, its muscles trembling as it struggled to remain on its feet.

"Sorry, brother, but we need the meat." Daryl said under his breath to the deer as he ended its suffering with a bolt through the eye. He made quick work of cleaning and bagging as much usable meat as he could carry, he knew the smell would being walkers for miles.

He stayed for longer than he should have, but he wanted to bag the heart, lungs and liver for Gavin. Then he heard it … the shuffling gaits and hungry growls of the walkers. He slipped back into the tree line unnoticed as the herd started to enter the clearing on the opposite side.

It was going to be dark soon, but he had to bite the bullet and make the trip home, or else the meat would spoil before they could preserve it. He wasn't too worried about the herd of walkers, they would be too preoccupied with the remains of the deer.

Michonne suddenly sat up and looked through her scope.

"What?" Charlotte asked as she sat up and clicked the safety off her rifle.

"Thought I saw somethin' movin' in the woods."

"Walker?" Charlotte replied.

"Can't tell yet." Michonne said as she scoured the tree line.

Just then, a figure broke through the trees.

"It's Daryl." Michonne said as she lowered her rifle.

"Hey, all's well, it's Daryl." She called down to the gatekeepers, who quickly unlocked the gate for him.

"Shit, Daryl, doin' that's gonna get you shot one day, you know that?" Michonne called down to him.

Daryl grinned. "Yeah, been there, done that." He said as he pulled his hair back to reveal the scar from where Andrea had shot him on Hershel's farm.

Michonne laughed in spite of herself as he headed to the kitchen with the meat.

"Hey! You guys mind pulling double duty for tonight and we'll cover you tomorrow? We have to help can all that meat." Charlotte said to Carl and Sasha in the other tower.

"No, but remember, you owe us." Carl said.

Gavin had followed Daryl into the kitchen, sniffing the bag excitedly.

"Don't you worry, boy, I got somethin' for you, too." He said as he stroked the dog's plush coat just as Charlotte, Michonne and most of the other women from Alexandria entered the kitchen, ready to get to work.

* * *

Daryl was sitting on the couch with Gavin when he heard the door open and he smiled to himself as he heard Charlotte drop her bags at the door. She wasn't the best housekeeper around, but it wasn't like that mattered anymore at the end of the world.

He put his arm around her as she flopped down on the couch next to him.

"How much meat did it yield?" He asked.

"Oh, god …. Enough for months if we ration it right."

"Yeah, until Negan and his assholes take it." Daryl snarled in reply.

"Yeah … that's why we hid it." Charlotte said with a wink.

"Hid it?" Daryl repeated as he turned to face her. "Did Rick tell ya'll to do that?"

"No, we decided amongst ourselves that we are sick of giving that asshole all of our shit, so we started stockpiling everything. " She replied.

"Damn, Charlotte, if Negan finds out, he'll kill all ya'll!" Daryl exclaimed as he jerkily removed his arm from around her shoulders and angrily stood up, his back to her.

"IF he finds out, but we hid it well, Daryl, ain't nobody going to find it unless they know where it's hidden, and the only ones who know that are us ladies. So unless one of us goes telling, he can look all he wants, but he'll never find it." She said.

"That was a dumbass thing to do, you know that?!" Daryl said as he rounded on her, his notoriously short temper flaring, Charlotte didn't flinch, she knew Daryl well enough to know that his worry usually came out as anger.

"Daryl, I had to do something, Judith's getting bigger and is eating solid food now, Maggie's pregnant, and it made me _sick_ to see those jerks taking the food out of their mouths!" She countered as Daryl paced angrily in front of her.

"Charlotte Negan almost _killed_ you once … he _would've_ if Glenn hadn't … he trailed off, not able to finish his sentence, emotion overtook him as he thought of his late friend and he turned away from her again and concentrated his gaze on the fireplace.

"You think I don't replay that every single day? I still have _nightmares_ about it … along with every fucking thing else that has happened to me, or someone I care about! Look … I didn't get where I am in this hellish world by being _afraid …_ and I am NOT going to start now! We've sent word with Jesus to hilltop, and they are doing the same thing." She said.

"Ya'll are all stupid, you know that?" Daryl growled as he stormed out.

Charlotte sat back down heavily on the couch as she heard the door slam, Gavin joined her and put his large head in her lap.

"It's okay, boy … daddy just had to go blow off a little steam, everything'll be okay." Charlotte said, more to reassure herself than the dog as she stroked Gavin's fur.

* * *

Daryl walked down the streets with his hands jammed in his jacket pockets against the chill of the early fall air, he couldn't help it, he was just so pissed! At Charlotte and the others for doing such a dumbass thing that could get them killed, at Negan for forcing them to make a decision like that, and at himself for not being able to do anything about it.

Now he had this to worry about on top of everything else that was already on his plate.

"Son of a bitch!" he said as he kicked a stone in the road, and immediately regretted it when it hit the metal wall with a loud bang. It wasn't long before he could hear the walkers growling and scratching at the walls.

Daryl used to hate society as it was, Merle used to complain about it all the time, he remembered him being happy as a lark when everything went down.

" _No more work, no more havin' to buy nothing, we can just take whatever we want!"_ he remembered Merle saying.

But now? Now he longed for society as it was, where assholes like Negan and his men would be in prison, or dead. To be able to have a normal life with Charlotte and give her everything she deserved; he stopped and pondered that last thought and how far he had come since they had met.

It was then that he realized just how incomplete he was as a person before she came into his life, like Carol had once said to him, before he was nothing more than a boy, selfish and petulant; but she had forced him to grow up and become a _man_ … and a better person.

It was that change that made him realize how foolish his storming out was, in this world, where no one knew if they would even _get_ a tomorrow, a person couldn't afford to stay mad at their loved ones.

Charlotte turned her good eye towards the door when she heard it open, she was still sitting on the couch where Daryl had left her, he came around and sat next to her.

"I'm … I'm sorry. I just … I still lose my temper sometimes, and that _was_ a dumb ass thing ya'll did …even if I understand why you did it. But what I _don't_ want is us staying mad at each other, because we don't know if we're gonna get a tomorrow, you know? And if that ever happens …" He trailed off.

"Fuck … I've never been any good talking about this stuff." He said sheepishly.

"If that happens, you don't want our last words to each other to be in anger." Charlotte finished for him.

"Yeah … somethin' like that." He replied.

"Same here." She said as she kissed him slowly and sensually.

A growl rumbled deep in Daryl's throat as he returned her kiss with a passionate one of his own.

"You drive me crazy woman, you know that?" he hissed into her ear.

"I know, so you've told me." she replied with a laugh as he hoisted her up and carried her to the bedroom.

* * *

"Hey, Charlotte and Daryl gone already?" Michonne and Carl turned from their posts at the watch towers to see Rick standing below peering up at them, shading his eyes against the bright fall morning sun.

"Yeah, shit they were gone before our shift started this morning." Michonne said.

"I wish they would _check in_ with me first before they headed off." Rick said, more to himself than Michonne or Carl.

"You know those two… always been kind of feral." Michonne replied, unconcerned.

"Yeah." Rick mused as he put his hand against the wall.

"They'll be okay, Rick, they're survivors. They're the ones I worry the least about when they go out." Michonne said.

"I understand they know how to handle themselves, but they're family, and I'm always going to worry about family." Rick said as he left them to make his morning rounds.

* * *

Charlotte looked out the passenger window at the landscape whizzing by. Today they were headed to the nearest major city, something that always made her nervous as hell; partly because the drive alone would take them almost the whole day, and for as much stuff as they needed, they would have to stay at least three days the overrun city.

She looked over at Daryl, his jaw flexed as he ground his teeth, and his brilliant blue eyes, fixed on the empty road ahead harbored a hard expression. She knew he didn't like doing this anymore than she did, but with Glenn dead, and Maggie pregnant and unable to contribute, they had no choice.

Daryl cursed as they pulled up to a large traffic snarl.

"I thought the Saviors cleared all the roads in the area?" Charlotte said as she checked the clips on her desert eagles and readied her machete.

"Must not've got to this one." Daryl said as he got out and scoped out the snarl for the best way to navigate it.

"Can we just go around it on the median?" Charlotte offered.

"We might if we still had the truck, but it rained last night, this car'll get stuck in the damn mud." Daryl replied tersely as he wrenched open the door to the nearest car and jammed the gearshift into neutral.

"Now come on, sooner we do this, the sooner we can get on with it." He ground out.

They pushed car after car off the road into the median until they finally had a clear path through, just in time, too because they spotted a sizable heard of walkers coming out of the woods that lined the road.

"Let's get while the getting's good." Daryl said as they were off, leaving the growling, hungry walkers to stagger slowly after them.

Once they were back on the road, Charlotte leaned back against her seat and allowed the gentle motion, and sound road to relax her.

She was just drifting off to sleep when she heard the telltale sound of the right rear tire blowing out.

Daryl cursed as he struggled to maintain control of the car, but it was no use.

"Son of a bitch!" was the last thing she remembered hearing him say.

* * *

 _Notes: I am sorry I have taken so long to update this story, I've had a lot of stuff going on IRL lately and several other stories in the works as well. Please forgive me._


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Charlotte came to, her skull splitting with pain. She touched her hand gingerly to her forehead and came back with blood; she took stock of the rest of her body and concluded that luckily, her head injury seemed to be the only one she had. Somewhere next to her, she heard Daryl stir.

"Good thing we still wear our seatbelts, eh?" she said in attempt at humor as she undid hers and let herself drop onto the roof of the now upside down car.

Daryl tried to pull himself free of the mangled car, but was halted when his leg suddenly exploded with pain.

"Fuck, I think my leg's broke." He ground out through gritted teeth.

"Hang on, let me help you." Charlotte said as she squeezed through the shattered window and raced around to his side, they had to be quick, every walker in the area undoubtedly heard the crash, and they would be upon them in no time.

She yanked her bag out of the back seat and dug out her crowbar, she cringed at the horrid groaning sound that echoed through the desolate landscape.

"Come on … on three." She said as she took hold of Daryl's hands and on the count of three, she pulled with all her might. Daryl couldn't stop the strangled cry of pain that escaped him, he was no stranger to pain, but this was by far the worst pain he could ever remember.

I can't … it's no use." He said, just then they heard it, the hoarse growls and shuffling gaits of the approaching walker herd, and by the sound, it was a big one.

"Shit!" Charlotte cursed as she put her hand to her now throbbing forehead; for the first time in a long time, she was close to panicking.

Just then, the walkers that were closest to the road dropped where they stood, arrows sticking out of their skulls. Charlotte wheeled around, her desert eagle drawn to see four men on horseback come riding up to them.

"We were on a scouting mission when we heard the crash and we came to help." One of them said as he dismounted.

Charlotte hesitated as she weighed her options, but she didn't have many, uncharacteristically, she reluctantly lowered her pistols.

"He … he's stuck and I … I don't have the strength to pull him out." She admitted.

The horsemen felt a pang of empathy for the tough looking little woman, it was clear to him how tough it was for her to admit that little fact.

"No worries, we'll have him out in a jiffy." He said as he motioned to his comrades and they all dismounted to help.

"We're not going to be able to be gentle about this, it's going to hurt like hell." He told Daryl.

"Jus DO it!" Daryl bellowed in reply as Charlotte laid down cover fire from the ever advancing walker herd.

With a collective effort, the four men freed Daryl with one gigantic pull. Charlotte swallowed hard against the nausea that rose in her throat in response to the strangled cry of pain that erupted from Daryl as the men yanked him free.

"Oh god, Daryl." Charlotte said as she looked down at Daryl's mangled, bloody leg.

"Can you ride?" One of the men asked Charlotte.

"It's been a while, but I think I can manage." She replied.

"Good, you two take my horse, I'll ride double with Sean. Our community's not too far, we'll be there before dark if we hurry." He said as he hopped on behind the man she assumed was Sean.

Charlotte boosted Daryl into the saddle and clamored on behind him.

"Let's see if I can still do this." She said as she took hold of the reins.

* * *

The lead horsemen was right, they did arrive just before dark. The gates opened for them and they looked upon the community in wonderment.

"Damn, it looks like we've gone back to the middle ages!" Daryl quipped through gritted teeth, Charlotte couldn't help but chuckle. What had once been a suburban neighborhood was now barely recognizable; the front yards of most of the houses had been fashioned into corals and pens with various animals from horses all the way down to chickens.

"At least you haven't lost your sense of humor." She replied as she dismounted and helped Daryl off.

"Come on, let's get you to the doc." Sean said as he threw Daryl's other arm over his shoulders and steered him towards one of the largest houses that stood at the end of the street.

"Hey, doc!" Sean called as they entered.

A stocky, grey haired man of about sixty came rushing into what was once the foyer of the large house.

"Holy hell, what _happened_?" The doctor said as he ushered them into one of the bedrooms, which had been quite expertly converted into a surgery suite.

"Car accident, we came up on them." Sean explained to the doctor as he examined Daryl's leg and cleaned it.

"Hello, son. My name is Doctor Asher Kingsbury, but everyone just calls me Doc. Good news is it's not a compound fracture, bad news is I am going to have to realign the bones before I can set them, it's going to hurt like hell and all I have to sedate you with is ketamine." He as he drew back a syringe from a vial and injected it into Daryl's arm and within minutes, Daryl was out.

"Even so, you two are going to have to hold him down, because like I said, this is going to hurt like hell and I am afraid to give him any more ketamine." Asher said to Sean and Charlotte; Sean took hold of Daryl's legs, while Charlotte held onto his arms.

"Okay … here we go." Asher said as he began to work on Daryl's leg, sure enough, despite the sedative, Daryl sprang to life and tried to fight with a feral, wild look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, honey, but we ain't got a choice if we want to save your leg." Charlotte said into his ear as tears welled up in her eye.

Suddenly, Daryl went limp. Charlotte had a moment of panic, but her experiences helping her sister, and later Hershel reminded her that he had likely passed out from a combination of the pain, and the drugs.

But she and Sean grimaced as Asher finally was able to push the pieces of broken bone back together with a sickening crack.

"Now, young lady, I'm going to need your help in setting this. I'll need you to hold his leg steady, hurry up, now. He'll be waking up soon." Asher said.

"Just tell me what to do." Charlotte said as she hurried to his side.

* * *

The tranquilizer had taken longer to wear off than they had expected, and it was well into the night before Charlotte heard Daryl stir. He tried to move and immediately regretted it as searing pain shot through his leg.

"Son of a bitch!" he hissed through gritted teeth.

"It's okay, Daryl, you're safe, I'm right here." Charlotte's voice came from somewhere in the dark.

"Here." She said as she put her hand behind his head and helped him sit up so he could take a drink of water.

"Not too much, now or you'll toss your cookies." She said as she let him have a few gulps before taking it away and she helped him lie back down and made sure he was covered.

"You don't feel feverish so far, that's a good sign." She said as she felt his forehead, she was suddenly aware of his hand enveloping hers in a strong grip, she looked into his eyes and was surprised to see a worried, almost frightened look in them.

"Don't you worry, I ain't going to leave you until I know for sure that we can trust these people and as soon as you're able, we're outta here." She said as she ran her hand through his lengthening hair.

"I'll be right over in the next bed if you need anything." She said.

"I love you, ya know that?" He said, his gruff voice hoarse from lack of use.

Charlotte bent down close to him. "Yeah, I know." She said as she kissed him.

Daryl's hand suddenly shot out and gripped her behind the head as his tongue entered her mouth to entangle with hers.

Reluctantly, she pried herself away from him.

"None of _that_ until you're well, mister." She said as she waggled her finger at him and backed out of his reach, he merely grinned wolfishly at her.

"I'll be right in the next bed if you need anything." She said.

Daryl blew out a petulant sigh; his leg throbbed with pain, but it did nothing to quell the burning desire her kiss had ignited. She still drove him crazy, and probably always would … and he wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

It had been three weeks since the accident, and Doctor Asher had finally cleared Daryl to be out and about as long as he didn't overdo it.

"Charlotte, I _can_ walk, ya know." Daryl said irritably as she pushed him along in a wheelchair with his broken leg elevated.

"Doc says you shouldn't be on your feet for another two weeks, the only reason he let you out of that hospital of his was because I promised that I would keep a leash on you until he gave you the all clear." Charlotte replied matter of factly.

"Where we goin' anyways?" Daryl asked.

"There's someone who wants to meet you. Someone I think you're gonna get a kick out of." Charlotte replied as they entered the auditorium of what was once an elementary school.

A deafening roar echoed through the empty auditorium.

"Sheva please, calm yourself, these people are friends." A voice drifted across the auditorium.

"What the hell?!" Daryl exclaimed as he looked back at Charlotte, who chuckled at his shocked expression.

"I told ya you were gonna get a kick out of this." She replied with a grin as she rolled him down the center isle to the stage was a man sat upon an elaborate throne, to his left sat a large Bengal tiger.

"Ahhh good day Lady Charlotte, I hope you are well and enjoying our community so far! And this must be the Famous Daryl I have been hearing so much about, it's wonderful to finally meet you; my name is King Ezekiel, and this fine lady here is Sheva." Ezekiel said as he gestured to the tiger.

"Your community is awesome, your majesty; but I'm worried … we've been gone a lot longer than we were supposed to be and I am afraid our friends will start looking for us … I would feel a lot if they knew we were safe." Charlotte said.

"Say no more, my good lady, just tell me where to find your community and I will make sure word gets to them that you are safe." Ezekiel said with an elaborate wave of his hand.

"Our community is Alexandria." Charlotte said, Ezekiel paused at this before turning to his assistant.

"Jerry, send for Daniel and Colton." Jerry nodded and hurried out the side stage entrance.

"Fret not, my lady, we will inform your people that you are safe. In the meantime please make yourselves at home, you are welcome to stay as long as you like."

"Very much appreciated … your Majesty." Charlotte replied with a wry smile.

* * *

"You better stop right there unless you want a bullet right through your skull!" Michonne called out as two men on horseback rode up to their gate.

"We are looking for Rick Grimes, is there a Rick Grimes there we can talk to?" One of them said.

"I'm Rick Grimes." Rick said as he ascended the ladder and came to stand next to Michonne, whose rifle never wavered.

"Mr. Grimes, my name is Daniel, this is Colton. We have been sent to tell you that your people are safe, but there was an accident with the car they were driving and one of them was injured. They are at our sanctuary, a place we call The Kingdom." He said.

Michonne looked to Rick, her rifle remaining steadfast; her expression was one of shrewd distrust.

"What are our people's names and what do they look like?" Rick asked.

"The woman's name is Charlotte I think and she has a patch over her right eye, her companion's name is Daryl, and his leg was badly broken in the accident. Our doctor managed to fix it, but he'll be laid up for a while. They told King Ezekiel, our leader to send word to you that they were safe and okay, they didn't want you to worry." The man named Daniel said.

Rick looked to Michonne, who shrugged and deferred to him for a decision.

"Thank you for riding all this way to let us know that our people are okay, it's getting late, why don't you stay here for the night and you can head out first thing in the morning." Rick offered.

Daniel and Colton talked it over and turned back to Rick with a genuine smile.

"Sounds good." They agreed.

Rick motioned for Heath to open the gate for them.

"We'll see about finding you a place to stay." Rick said as he motioned for them to follow him.

"We really appreciate it." Daniel said.

"Don't mention it, I know how dangerous it is to travel at night nowadays." Rick replied as he lead them to the first vacant house they came to.

"You two can stay here for the night, I think the back yard will be big enough for your horses, and there is plenty of grass."

"We can't thank you enough." Daniel said as he held out his hand to Rick, who merely nodded as they all shook.

"They're an amazing pair, those two friends of yours." Daniel said, Rick grinned, knowing he was talking about Daryl and Charlotte.

"Yeah, they're one hell of a team." Rick replied.

* * *

 _Notes: Sorry this took so long ... I have been super busy IRL._


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Your Majesty, thank you for coming." Charlotte said as she stepped back to let him and Sheva inside.

The tiger was remarkably well behaved for a wild animal; she stayed close to her master, and didn't even so much as growl at Charlotte or Daryl.

"When a beautiful lady request the King's presence, he would be foolish to refuse." He said charmingly as he took hold of her hand and kissed it.

A low growl escaped Daryl's throat as his eyes darkened in anger, Charlotte, sensing this put her hand on his arm to calm him.

"We asked you here to propose a proposition to you; after talking to others in your group, I learned that your group, and mine have a similar problem … the Saviors. " Charlotte paused to allow Ezekiel to absorb this before she continued.

"I propose that we combine forces and take him down once and for all, for good this time." She finished.

"Didn't you all try that once and fail?" Ezekiel quipped with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah … yeah we did … but we were dumb asses and weren't smart about it, we didn't know what we know now, and we have moles in Negan's group; people who don't agree with the way he runs things, either and would rather work together." Charlotte replied.

"And you trust them? Because the Saviors I know are not exactly known for their integrity." Ezekiel replied.

"I don't trust them _all_ no, but I do trust these few who came to us at risk to themselves to let us know they were with us."

"And you trust her judgement?" Ezekiel said to Daryl.

"Yep." Daryl replied without hesitation, Ezekiel chuckled and flashed the couple a knowing smile as he shook his head amusingly.

"Why does that not surprise me … but does Rick trust it? Before I agree to something like this, I would have to talk with him first, and then I would have to talk to my people before we go any further." Ezekiel said.

"Fair nuff." Daryl said as they all shook.

* * *

"I am sorry we can't give you anything better, cars aren't really our primary means of traveling. We only use them when we have to go on long supply runs to a large city, where taking the horses would be too dangerous." One of Ezekiel's knights, a man called Saul said, his tone apologetic.

"No worries, Sir, we thank you for it and I might see if I can even spruce it up for you a little before you're by to pick it up." Charlotte said as they all shook hands.

"You sure you're fit for travel? It's only been four weeks." Saul said to Daryl.

"I'll live, gotta get home, got a ton of shit to do there." Daryl replied.

"Shit you will _not_ be doing, mister, not for another month or so at least." Charlotte interjected as she waggled her finger at him.

Saul did his best to stifle a chuckle, but wasn't very successful.

"Well, in that case, I wish you safe travels." He said as he motioned for the gatekeepers to open the gate.

"Thank you sir, and thank you all for your hospitality, it won't be forgotten, I assure you." Charlotte said as Daryl wordlessly slipped behind the wheel, signaling to her that he wanted to get a move on.

Saul waved a final goodbye to them as they drove out, he watched their taillights until he couldn't see them anymore. He along with many others in their group had grown to like the couple, and they would surely be missed.

* * *

Tara, and Carl clicked the safety's off their rifles as they saw headlights approaching in the fading daylight.

"It's all good … it's Daryl and Charlotte!" Tara said to their gatekeeper, who opened the gate for them.

Daryl exited the car with a grimace, his leg was hurting like hell, he clearly pushed it by insisting that he drive.

Charlotte skipped around the front of the car to help him when they were suddenly bombarded with Alexandrians, who were happy to see their safe return.

"And you think you're unpopular." Charlotte hissed into his ear as they made their way through en route to Rick's house.

Rick and Carl greeted them warmly and ushered them inside.

"Two men from the Kingdom came with the message off what happened to you, if they hadn't happened by, it could've been a whole hell of a lot worse." Rick said, his expression dark.

"Fuck, you don't have to tell _us_ twice … I've been thanking my lucky stars a group of Saviors didn't come up on us." Charlotte said.

"Enough with the small talk; we talked to the guy who heads up the place about teamin' up and takin' down the Saviors …"

"That dude is pretty cool, calls himself King Ezekiel, he's got a freaking pet _tiger_ and …" She trailed off as she caught the annoyed look Daryl was giving her.

"Sorry … darlin', please continue." She said as she motioned to him with a dry smile.

"Like I was sayin' this Ezekiel wants to arrange a meeting with you, and the leader of another community he called the Hilltop." Daryl finished.

"When?" Rick quipped.

Daryl shrugged. "Dunno, he just said to expect him." He said as he shifted uncomfortably on his still heeling leg, Rick, seeming to notice this, nodded and walked to the door.

"Good, now you two go and get some rest, looks like you need it." He said with a smile.

"Thanks, lawman." Charlotte said as she ushered a grumbling Daryl out the door.

"I dunno what everyone's fussin' about, I'm fine." Daryl growled as she helped him up the steps of their porch.

"Come on, Daryl, don't give me that crap … you can barely walk up the damn porch stairs, now get your ass into bed and off your feet before you do more harm to that leg than you probably already have." She said as she pointed to the bedroom.

Daryl knew better by now than to argue with her, so he begrudgingly complied, shedding his clothes on his way to the bedroom.

Charlotte walked into the bedroom a few minutes later, bearing a nice, steaming mug of hot tea to find him struggling to pull off his boot.

"Here, lay back, let me help you." She said as she sat the mug on the bedside table, Daryl was too tired and in too much pain to argue, he simply lay back against the bed and offered his foot to her.

"It was so hard to get off because your leg is swollen, I _told_ you, you pushed it today." She said as she set his boot down next to the other one at the foot of the bed and helped him swing his legs over.

"Let me get a couple of cushions from the couch to prop this leg up with, then I'll get some ice from the freezer, see if we can get that swelling to go down." She said as she disappeared out of the bedroom.

She returned after a moment with several cushions from the couch, and a bag with ice in it; then, as gently as she could she used the cushions to prop up his leg, and gently covered it with a towel before placing the bag of ice over his ankle.

"Now, I'm gonna take a shower, and you'd _better_ be right in that spot when I get out." She said as she fixed him with a hard look.

"The only place I might end up is in there with you." He said, his voice dropping a couple of octaves as he fixed her hard look with a heated one of his own.

"You better stay in that bed, Mister … if you do, you might be handsomely rewarded … but only if you're in that bed when I get out." She said as she flashed him a saucy grin before disappearing into the bathroom.

"You're killin' me, you know that?" Daryl called after her, the only response he got was the shower turning on.

* * *

Rick, Carl, Michonne and Judith were sitting down to a quaint breakfast of oatmeal and mixed fruit from the garden when there was a loud, resounding knock at the door.

They all shared a guarded look, Michonne and Carl reached for their weapons as Rick rose to answer the door, the holster on his 357 unclipped.

Rick opened the door and jumped back in surprise, his hand flying to the butt of his 357 as he came face to face with Ezekiel and Sheva the tiger.

"Pardon the interruption, are you a Mr. Rick Grimes? I was told that I could find him here." Ezekiel said as he bowed graciously.

"Yeah … yeah … please come in." Rick said after the initial shock of seeing someone with a pet _tiger_ wore off.

"That's the look I had, too when I first met him." A familiar drawling voice said, they turned to Charlotte as she sauntered through the door.

Ezekiel chuckled amusingly as he shook his head. "Such sharp eyesight for someone with just one eye." He said, his eyes twinkling.

"Well … you're kinda hard to miss." She said with a dry laugh as she gestured to Sheva.

"You said you were looking for me?" Rick interjected, bringing everyone back to the matter at hand.

"Yes, my apologies … the presence of beautiful women tends to make me lose my train of thought." He said as he glanced at Charlotte and Michonne, who shared an amused raised eyebrow with one another.

"Your people brought it to my attention that we might have the same problem with the same people, I presume that we work together to elevate that problem." Ezekiel said.

"What'd you have in mind?" Rick quipped, suddenly rapt with attention.

"There's another community, one like yours called the Hilltop, it's not too far from here. If we're going to do this, we are going to need their help." Ezekiel said.

Rick nodded, his face set. "Charlotte, take … His Majesty and put him up for the night, make sure he's comfortable. We'll head out to this _Hilltop_ first thing in the morning."

* * *

"Mornin' Your Highness … sleep well?" Charlotte said as she, Rick, Daryl and Michonne met up at the front gates.

"Yes, quite well in fact, I have almost forgotten how it felt to have heat, and a nice soft mattress." Ezekiel said.

"Where's Sheva?" Charlotte asked with an intrigued smile.

"When I left she had taken my place on the bed, snoring away." Ezekiel said with a laugh.

Rick rounded on him. "You just … _left_ that animal in the house … _alone_?!" He sputtered.

"Worry not, my good sheriff, Sheva is a lady and conducts herself as such." Ezekiel said as he gave a disbelieving Rick a hearty thump on the chest before sliding into the front passenger seat.

Charlotte, Daryl and Michonne shared a chuckle as they piled into the back.

* * *

"Damn." Charlotte breathed as they crested the last hill on a desolate two lane country road. A huge compound came into view surrounded by a twenty foot tall wall, Charlotte caught a glimpse of a huge mansion at the top of a hill in the center of the compound.

"I can see why it's called Hilltop." Michonne said as she craned her neck out the window to drink in as much of the compound as she could before it disappeared behind the massive wall.

"Everyone stay sharp." Rick said as they willed up to the massive wooden gate; Michonne, Daryl and Charlotte readied their weapons in case things went south.

"Please, there is no need for that, these people aren't mercenaries." Ezekiel chastised them.

"Forgive us, your Majesty, but we've had a lot of experience with shit goin' south and we ain't takin' no chances." Michonne said.

"Halt! Who goes there!" One of the gatekeepers said as they aimed their rifles at them. Ezekiel motioned feverishly for Rick and the others to stand down as he exited the car.

"Ahhh! Miles! It is I King Ezekiel!" he said as he held his hand up high for them to see; a smile crossed the man's face and both gatekeepers lowered their rifles.

"How you doin', your Majesty." The man called Miles said, his voice was thick with a New England accent.

"Miles, my friends and I are here to see Gregory, we have something very important to speak with him about."

"Alright, your Majesty, come on in." Miles said, motioning below him as Ezekiel slid smoothly back into the passenger seat of the car.

"You'd better be right about this." Rick ground out, giving Ezekiel a hard side glance as the gates opened for them and they drove through.

* * *

 _Notes: I am sorry but I had to end it there, it just felt right … I know … I'm mean LOL, but I hope to have the next chapter up by the end of the week, maybe the beginning of next week._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Your Highness, to what do I owe this … rather unexpected visit?" Gregory said as he sauntered up to meet them, eying Rick and the others.

A scowl crossed Charlotte's scared face as she threw Daryl a glance, she already didn't like this guy.

"Gregory, these are my new allies, they hail from a community that is none too far from both of ours called Alexandria. They came to me with a proposition, one I think you should hear." Ezekiel said.

Gregory blew out a long dramatic, suffering sigh. "Well, you're here now, might as well come on in." He said as he motioned for them to follow him.

"Ladies first." Ezekiel said as he waved Charlotte and Michonne through, his eyes twinkling charmingly.

Charlotte smiled and nodded politely as she walked through, Michonne followed her without a second glance to the King.

"Care for a drink?" Gregory offered as he strode to the closet and dug out a bottle of scotch. Just then, there was a knock at his door.

"Ahh! Paul! I am glad you could make it!" He said as a man who looked to be about Charlotte and Daryl's age came striding quickly in.

"Hello, nice to meet you all. My name is Paul Rovia, but everyone just calls me Jesus." He said as he shook all of their hands; Charlotte could see the basis for his nickname, with his shoulder length brown hair and beard he bore an uncanny resemblance to his holy namesake.

"Now that everyone's here, we can begin." Gregory said.

"We propose an alliance to take down the Saviors." Rick said bluntly, getting right down to it. Bullshit was never his forte.

Gregory choked on his scotch.

"I am sorry, did you say that you want to join up to take down the Saviors?" He repeated hoarsely, patting his chest.

"Yeah." Rick replied, holding the man's gaze with a hard one of his own.

"Well … I'm sorry for you all wasting your time coming down here, but that is not something we're going to be able to do." Gregory said.

"Gregory, wait, you haven't even heard their game plan, yet!" Jesus said.

"I don't have to, I know it's already not going to work. You know how big Negan is? His group is hundreds strong, maybe thousands! He has outposts all over the DC area! And if we fail, he'll kill us all!"

"Hey, of course we're not going to decide anything without pitching this to our communities and putting it to a vote." Charlotte said, her patience with this coward was already starting to wear thin.

"Haven't we been here before? You promised to take them all out once before and failed, you know we all had to suffer for that one." Gregory said as he lifted his sweater and showed her a long, thick, jagged scar."

"After your group's little _stunt_ … the Saviors paid me a visit, they somehow got wind of the fact that we conspired against them, if this fails again, they _will_ kill me." Gregory said.

"We know the mistakes we made the last time, we won't make them again." Rick countered.

"No, you'll just make new ones." Gregory quipped cynically.

"Look, we gotta so somethin', we just can't keep on like we are!" Michonne interjected.

"Forgive me, but why are _you_ two even here? Unless your boss brought you as some kind of … _incentive_." Gregory said as he eyed Michonne with a lecherous glint in his eyes.

"You'd better watch your mouth, asshole." Charlotte growled in warning.

"Why, are you jealous that I wouldn't want _both_ of you? Well … sorry for saying so, but you'll have to forgive me if I don't." he said as he looked her up and down condescendingly.

A growl of rage escaped Daryl's throat as he made to push the others out of the way, his hand ready to draw his knife. But Charlotte was too quick for him; with the reflexes of a cat, she backhanded Gregory across the face with all the strength she could muster and had her machete at his throat before he or any of the others could even react.

"I already don't like you, you yellow ass piece of shit. You think the Saviors are scary? You ain't seen _nothing_ yet." She said as she pushed the blade of her machete into Gregory's neck, Gregory let out a whimper as he felt the sharp blade cutting into his flesh.

"Now here's what's gonna happen; Jesus here is gonna round up your community and we're gonna pitch this idea to them, and give them a week or so to think about it, Ezekiel will do the same, as will we. Once everyone's had the chance to mull it over, we'll meet back with a decision … Is that understood?" She said, her face harbored an unhinged, dangerous expression.

Gregory fearfully nodded, unable to speak due to her machete pressed against his throat.

"Good … I think we're done here, we'll be in touch." Rick said as Charlotte sheathed her machete and walked back to stand next to Daryl.

"That's my girl." He whispered into her ear with a wry grin.

"Son of a bitch, did you _see_ that?! That one eyed bitch … she's crazy!" Gregory said as he rubbed his throat.

"No … she's _right_ , we've been under the Savior's thumb for too long." Jesus mused.

* * *

"Thank you, King Ezekiel, we'll be in touch." Rick said the next morning as they escorted him and Sheva to Alexandria's gates.

"I look forward to it, good Sheriff, until then, I hope fortune finds you well." He said as he and Sheva bid their farwells.

"Admit it, you're sad to see him go." Charotte said as she nudged Michonne playfully as they stood on her porch and watched Ezekiel and Sheva depart.

Michonne smiled at the ground in uncharastreric bashfullness, grateful that her dark skin hide the fact that she was blushing.

"I have to admit, he's got me intregued." She said after a beat of silence.

Charlotte smiled wryly in response but decided not to give her friend any more of a hard time.

"What do you think's gonna happen?" Michonne asked, changing the subject.

Charlotte shrugged. "I dunno, it all depends on what the moles we have in Negan's group do." She replied.

* * *

"Morning, Dwight." Rick said as he and Dwight shook

"Morning, Rick." Dwight said, his expression was apologetic, Rick knew he hated this as much as he did.

"You ready to do this?" Dwight said.

"Yeah, might as well get it over with." He said as he tossed Dwight the keys to the truck.

"Wait … don't you want this truck?" Dwight quipped.

"No … it's not a diesel, it's a gas guzzler anyways." Rick replied with a smile that was somewhat forced.

"We're ready to do this thing when you are, just let us know what you and the other communities decide." Dwight said.

Rick eyed him suspiciously as he spoke.

"I hope you aren't playing us, Dwight. Because if you are, it's going to be bad for you and everyone else who was in on it." Rick said, his voice had a menacing undertone to it as he held Dwight's gaze with a hard one of his own.

"Like I've told you, Rick, there are many of us that want out of this shithole as bad as you do, if we were gonna double cross you, we could've done it a _long_ time ago back when you first pitched the idea to us." Dwight said, his demeanor and his gaze didn't waver from Rick's in the slightest.

Rick's experience as a cop was not entirely forgotten, and his old instincts told him that Dwight was on the up and up.

"Okay then, Dwight, we'll let you know, just be ready to move when we are." Rick said as they shook hands.

"Just don't be too long, we don't know how much longer we can keep this from Negan, he's got eyes and ears everywhere." Dwight said.

"I will try not to be." Rick said in parting as he motioned for Heath and Sasha to open the gates for him.

He blew out a huge sigh as he watched Dwight drive through the gate, their town meeting was tonight, and he hoped it would go well.

* * *

The whole town of Alexandria gathered, murmuring anxiously amongst themselves in the park at the center of town. Rick, Ezekiel, and Jesus made their appearance, and a hush fell over the crowd.

"Hello and thank ya'll for coming. I have with me King Ezekiel, leader of the Kingdom, and Jesus, spokesmen for the Hilltop. We have come to you because we have a common problem, and his name is Negan. Winter is fast approaching, and if we all keep going like we are, chances are we will not be able to gather enough food for us, and them.

"So … we propose that we join forces and do battle, but we are going to need everyone's help, if it's not fighting, we'll find something for you to do." Jesus interjected.

The Alexandrians mulled it over amongst themselves for what seemed like an eternity; Rick stood patiently and waited, but his stomach was in knots, if they didn't go for this, then everything was fucked.

"We're with you, we're sick of that asshole and his goons getting half everything we work so hard for!" An older man by the name of Gerald spoke up, ripples of agreement could be heard through the gathering of townspeople.

Rick and Ezekiel shared a satisfactory smile

"Great, than let's get started." Rick said

* * *

In the coming weeks the Alexandria and the other safe zones trained hard, stockpiled resources, and talked about a plan. If Negan knew he wasn't letting on, and all three leaders decided to err on the side of caution and prepare for the fact they he might be onto them.

The next morning during training, Gerald approached Rick.

"Before this all happened, I was a news chopper pilot for WGLA news. We covered this thing, flying over the city every day; all the way up until the White House fell and they stopped broadcasting. I know the area pretty well, there are several military bases that as far as I know, no one has been able to get close to them." He said, Rick turned his full attention to the man.

"Then how do you propose we get to them if they're overrun? I can't afford to lose any more people right now." He said.

"I know where they kept the news chopper; I bet it's still there." Gerald said.

And Idea suddenly popped into Rick's mind.

"Do you think you could fly a military chopper?" He asked.

Gerald shrugged. "Never seen the inside of one, but I could probably figure it out." He replied.

Rick's weathered face spread into a wide grin.

"Good." He said.

* * *

"Now … you're _sure_ you know where you're going?" Gerald insisted for what seemed like the thousandth time to Daryl, Charlotte, and Abraham.

"For the last time, we got your map, Ace … we'll be _fine_." Abraham said exasperatedly as Rick joined them.

"I hate asking you to do this." He said.

"Hey, no worries, law man, all in a day's work." Charlotte said.

"Be safe, all of you." He said as he put a hand on Daryl and Charlotte's shoulders

"Enough of this pansy bull shit … let's get it done." Abraham interrupted as they all piled into the car.

Daniel, one of Ezekiel's knights joined Rick as he watched the trio drive out of the gates.

"You know I offered to go with them, but your man, Daryl insisted on taking Charlotte with him." He said.

"Yeah … well she's pretty handy with mechanics, if they find any vehicles she might be able to get them running." Rick said matter of factly, but as he met Daniel's gaze, his eyes harbored a twinkle.

Daniel returned Rick's gaze with a knowing smile of his own as they watched the small SUV disappear over the hill.

* * *

"We're gonna have to make a stop or two before we get there." Daryl said, the muscles in Abraham's cheeks flexed as he ground his teeth. Having to stop, especially when they were making good time made his ass itch; but it was the unfortunate reality of the world they now lived in. It just wasn't safe to travel at night anymore.

"We'll make it as far as we can, but as soon as the light starts getting low, start lookin' for a place." Charlotte said.

"Awww _shit_!" Daryl cursed as they crested the top of the hill to be met with a huge traffic snarl going in both directions. The decaying cars were facing the same way, meaning they had once been using both inbound and outbound lanes to evacuate when things got really bad.

"This map Gerald has marked says we should be approaching a base called Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling." Charlotte said.

"Shit … if this is evac from the base, than we're fucked." Abraham said.

"Maybe it's not … this says it's right along highway 295 … maybe all this traffic was from Crystal City, or south Washington." Charlotte quipped as she studied the map, forever the optimist.

"One thing's for sure we ain't getting' through this tonight, we're gonna have to double back and find a place to stay for the night." Daryl said as he made a quick U-turn just as walkers were starting to make their appearance in the fading light as day slowly gave up its control to night.

"I think I saw a country road a little ways back, we can stay in a house off the road for the night." Charlotte said.

She had been right, Daryl turned off on the first country road they spotted, they traveled about a mile before they came upon a house, the doors and windows were boarded up, which gave them hope they might not run into living people.

"Let's hurry the hell up, we're about to lose the light." Abraham said as they all grabbed their gear and crept towards the house.

"Shit! These boards are on tight! I can pry them off, but it'll make a hell of a racket." Charlotte said.

"I've got a better idea." Daryl said as he gestured to the upper windows, which weren't boarded up.

"We can shimmy up that tree." He said as he tossed a rope around the highest sturdy branch and they all wasted no time in prying the window open and slipping into the dark, stale house.

"I don't smell anything, maybe we got lucky and there isn't a walker in here?" Charlotte said.

She had been right, graciously, the universe decided to throw them a little bone, and the house was devoid of both walkers and living people.

"The owners must've just boarded up and evacuated, this place doesn't look like it's been touched since everything started." Abraham said.

"Daryl, since you drove, why don't I take first watch and everyone else get some sleep?" Charlotte offered.

"Daryl wanted to object, but his weary body told him otherwise.

"Okay, but when the moon gets high, you come and get me." He said as he pinned her with his intense stare.

"Okay, okay! I will … scout's honor." She said with a wry smile.

"But you wasn't a scout." He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Then you'll just have to take my word for it then, won't you?" She replied with a smirk and both men chuckled in spite of themselves.

"We best be getting to sleep, morning's gonna be here before we know it and we have a shitload of work ahead of us." Abraham said as he laid out his sleeping bag.

"Night, boys." Charlotte called over her shoulder as she looked out of the window over the darkened landscape with a rifle propped against her legs, their quiet snoring was their only response. She chuckled softly to herself as she gazed out onto the dark countryside.

* * *

 _Notes: Yes, I know that was a bit abrupt of an ending, but things would have gotten super long if I hadn't, sorry for the delay in an update, I will do my best to update more regularly._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 _Notes: I have never been to the DC area before, so everything in here is based on research, so please forgive me if anything is not accurate, I tried to do my best._

Charlotte sighed as she looked out the window, the surrounding landscape was bathed in the eerie pale light of the full moon. Her vision had long since become accustomed to being without the aid of artificial light, she could even see fairly well on even the darkest of moonless nights.

Other than the occasional walker, or woodland creature ambling through, the night had been quiet, and she now had to adhere to her promise and wake Daryl, no matter how much she hated to, he always looked so peaceful when he slept.

She sat the rifle down by the window and slowly made her way to where Daryl was sleeping, on his back, snoring softly with his arm behind his head like he usually did. She dropped down next to him, draped her arm across his torso and pressed her lips to his.

Daryl came to life in an instant, and he had her pinned to the floor with his hand on his hunting knife before she could even react.

"Jesus, woman! Doin' that's gonna get ya killed one of these damn days! I thought you was a damn walker!" He hissed into the silence, his blue eyes blazing.

"Sure, because walkers _always_ French kiss you before they kill you." She replied, clapping a hand over her mouth as she giggled girlishly.

Daryl let out an exasperated puff of air in reply as his expression softened, she always looked so damn _cute_ when she did that, it was such a contrast to her tough, battle scarred appearance.

"Oh _come on_ … admit it … _part_ of you enjoys it." She said as she slowly ran her hand up his inner thigh.

Daryl screwed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth as his desire hit him like a train, a frustrated growl rumbled from deep within as he threw a glance at the sleeping form of Abraham.

"Oh, don't you worry about him, ain't nothing short of a war, or a wake up call's going to bother him once he's asleep.

"And how do you know that?" Daryl asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Rosita." Charlotte replied with a grin as she led him to the window.

"Charlotte, you've been up since the crack o' dawn yesterday mornin', you need to get some rest." Daryl said, the worry was heavy in his voice and on his face as he cupped her face in his rough, callused hands.

"I need some time with my man _first_ … Rick's had us both so busy, we haven't seen hide nor hair of each other in almost two weeks!" Lord knows she was right, and the sexual tension was so thick between them that he was surprised the walkers couldn't smell it.

"If he catches us, I'm blamin' _you_." Daryl said as he cast another unsure glance at Abraham's sleeping form.

Daryl knew full well enough that the social constraints and rules of civilized society had long since been erased, but that didn't stop him from having residual awkwardness about making love in view of other people.

"Come on." He said as he pulled her into the bathroom and as soon as they closed the door, they were on each other. Daryl pushed her up against the door and ravaged her willing mouth with his as they undid each other's pants.

"I wish I could take my time with you." Daryl growled as he rubbed his cheek against hers, relishing the feel of her soft skin.

"Let's make the most of the time we _do_ have." Charlotte replied as she kissed him passionately.

* * *

"Come on … rise and shine, we're burnin' daylight and we still got almost a day's worth of drivin' before we get there." Abraham said as he prodded Daryl and Charlotte awake with the mouth of the rifle.

"Alright, Sarge … alright, we're gettin'." Charlotte said with an amused laugh as she and Daryl rose and stretched, and began packing up their belongings.

"Which way?" Abraham, who opted to drive this time, asked Charlotte, who rode shotgun.

"Map says this county road should intersect with the highway in about two miles, which should put us clear of the traffic snarl." She replied.

Sure enough, the bumpy, washboard county road dumped them out about a mile clear of the huge snarl.

Abraham gave Charlotte an amused, appreciative look as he put the petal down to try and eat up as much road as possible before nightfall.

"Its times like this I miss my GPS, it would have told us the traffic conditions." Charlotte said dryly.

"Look at that thing and pick out an alternate route, just in case we get into some shit." Abraham barked. Charlotte knew the former Sargent well enough now not to be offended by his sharpness, it was just his personality.

"I already have, I picked out two, as a matter of fact." Charlotte replied with an air of wry humor, Daryl snorted with laughter in response. Abraham eyed her with an amused expression as he barked out a laugh.

"Damn, girl, you're just _full_ of surprises aren't ya?" He replied, the corners of his mouth turning upward into a genuine smile; an act that was so rare, Charlotte wondered if his face would crack under the strain of it.

"Pretty good for someone who couldn't even find their ass without GPS back in the day, huh?" She quipped, returning his smile.

* * *

They had lucked out and only had to use one of Charlotte's mapped out shortcuts to navigate around a particularly nasty traffic snarl; they pulled to a stop just as they crested the last hill, the long abandoned base and the surrounding city loomed in front of them like a sleeping monster just as the sun began to dip behind the trees.

"It's gonna be gettin' dark, what do you boys wanna do?" Charlotte asked the two men.

"I say we hold up somewhere for the night and tackle this thing in the morning, the fence around it looks good from here, looks like it ain't been touched since this whole shit storm began, it ain't goin' nowhere." Daryl said as he peered through his binoculars.

"I have to say… I agree." Abraham echoed.

"Let's stay there." She said as she pointed to the dilapidated remains of a filling station set back against the ever encroaching forest.

"I don't like it, too exposed." Abraham said.

"We ain't got no choice, we can't go stumblin' around in the fucking dark." Daryl growled in reply.

"I'm sorry, Sarge, it's the only option we got, we can hide the car in the back, and we'll keep down, chances are no one's gonna think to look for people there." She said in an effort to break the testosterone fueled tension in the small confines of the vehicle.

"You heard her, let's go!" Daryl said as he angrily gestured to the back of the store.

Abraham let out a growl of frustration and disagreement as he threw the gearshift into drive and pulled around to the back.

"Best to get this over with." Charlotte said as they all exited the car, careful to close their doors in unison, and as quietly as possible.

"Awww … son of a bitch!" Abraham said as they came around to the front doors and found them to be locked behind an iron security cage.

"Don't you fret, I can break this in two shakes." Charlotte said as she dug a screwdriver out of her bag and sure enough, the rusted out lock gave quite easily and with very little noise.

There was one walker in the place, but he was pinned under several shelves that had fallen, and they dispatched him easily.

"I'll take first watch, Charlotte can take the second, Abraham, you can have the last." Daryl said and without another word, he moved to the window with the rifle slung over his shoulder.

"Night, Sarge." Charlotte said as she slipped into her sleeping bag.

"Hey …" Abraham trailed off, Charlotte sat up, looked at him and waited for him to compose his thoughts, something being with Daryl had made her very good at.

"Whatever happens tomorrow … I'm glad … to have _both_ of you here with me." He said as he looked to Daryl, who was eying him from his perch at the window.

"Likewise, Sarge." Charlotte said, Daryl wordlessly nodded in agreement as he turned back to the window.

"Now, I suggest we all get some shut eye, cause it's gonna be a hell of a day tomorrow." Charlotte said.

* * *

 _Notes: I know this one is a little short, but I had to end it there, the next sequence is going to be quite exciting and long, so it would have made this chapter much, much too long._


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 (revised)**

"Well … here goes nothin'." Abraham said to Daryl as Charlotte pushed open the gates for them and closed them behind. They made it through the surrounding city with surprising ease, Abraham said it was because they had dropped napalm in the streets when things got really bad.

As soon as they drove through the gate, the walkers were on them, most were dressed in military getup, and they looked like they had been there since this whole thing began.

"Let's get what we came here for and get the hell out of here!" Daryl shouted, Charlotte dove into the back seat and Daryl floored it towards the center of the base.

"There's a small fenced area over there, probably where they used to store the Humvee's, let's see how many we can lead in there!" Charlotte said as she leaned out of the window and banged the side of the car.

Most of the walkers took the bait, and it left them with a manageable number. They took them out in rapid succession until there was a mass of rotting, mangled bodies lying at their feet.

"You think you can drive a tank?" Abraham threw over his shoulder to Daryl and Charlotte.

"Give me a quick rundown and I'm sure I could." Charlotte replied as they headed to the lot where all the military equipment was stored.

"you think they'll still run?" Daryl asked, slightly breathless.

"Only one way to find out." Abraham said as he pried the hatch open and dropped down inside, Charlotte and Daryl followed closely behind.

"Oh so it's like a car … kind of." Charlotte said.

"It's pretty easy, if you can drive a car, you can drive a tank." Abraham said.

Charlotte had her doubts about it being that easy, but she decided to keep them to herself.

"So why don't you just drive the damn thing?" She quipped.

"Because … I'm gonna be flying _that_." He said as he pointed to one of two military choppers.

"You never said anything about knowing how to fly a chopper!" Charlotte exclaimed.

"Well, it's not like I want to go blabbin' that all over the place! What kind of smart strategy would that be?!" Abraham replied.

"Besides, I was never cleared to fly, I was in training when all this shit went down." He said with a sheepish grin as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, Christ!" Daryl groaned as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"Quit bitchin', I was three weeks out from being certified, I know enough to fly that thing back, all I need is a copilot to work the machine gun in case we need it.

"I'll do it." Charlotte spoke up.

"Hell no! No fucking way!" Daryl interjected, his eyes ablaze.

"Look, Daryl, it makes more sense for you to drive the tank, you have more experience driving large machinery than I do, and with only one eye … it's gonna be tough for me to see out of this damn thing." Charlotte reasoned.

"She's got a point, that'll work, let's go, Charlotte, we're burnin' daylight." Abraham and Charlotte booked it towards the chopper before Daryl could protest any further.

Seething, he climbed onto the top of the tank and watched them as they broke the lock on the aircraft hangar and slipped in.

"You'd better take care of her, asshole." Daryl growled through gritted teeth as he dropped inside.

"Shit! You sure you can't fly?" Abraham said as they swung open the doors to the hangar and were greeted with two fully equipped military choppers.

"No, I'm afraid not, Sarge, we're gonna have to leave one." Charlotte said with sad smile.

"Well, if we have to leave it then we sure as shit aren't gonna leave it for someone else to take it and use it against us." Abraham replied as he started rummaging around.

"What're ya saying?" Charlotte quipped as he started tossing her grenades.

"What I'm saying is we're gonna blow the fucker up. We're gonna take everything we can and we're gonna blow this whole fucking place up, now help me!" Abraham replied.

* * *

Daryl took quickly to driving the tank, which was not unlike driving a bobcat or any other small front end loader. He burst through the gates, mowing down walkers as he went, then suddenly, a huge blast rocked the entire tank, his heart came to reside in his feet as he realized that the blast came from behind him.

Once he was at a safe place, he stopped the tank and clamored out of the hatch. His worse fears were realized; the base was now nothing but a smoldering ruin, thick black smoke billowed up from where the hangar had stood.

Daryl couldn't think, so many emotions and thoughts were running through his head that he couldn't process them all, and then he heard it, the telltale sound of chopper blades. Then he saw them, he could faintly make out Charlotte waving out of the side door as they rocketed past him.

Daryl blew out a relieved sigh as he dropped down into the tank and followed them back home.

* * *

"Jesus! I thought you guys would never get back!" Rick said as they packed everything away.

"Sorry … things took longer than we anticipated." Charlotte replied as she rubbed her face tiredly.

"That's not all we have to worry about, that chopper's not exactly inconspicuous, Negan's bound to find out we have it, then what?" Maggie interjected.

"So, let's get the lead out of our britches and start planning." Abraham said

"I think we should strike first." Maggie said as she rested her arm on her growing stomach.

"I agree, I don't think we should give that asshole any chance to build a counter defense against the chopper." Charlotte replied.

Whispers of agreement rippled through the blended community of Alexandria, Kingdom and the Hilltop.

Pride and determination swelled within Rick as he looked over the tough group of survivors.

"Well, then what are we waiting for? Let's get ready and give this asshole what he's got coming to him!" He said as the entire community erupted in cheers.

* * *

Everyone spent the whole day and half the night getting ready, their plan was to pull out under cover of darkness and surprise them while they slept.

"Anything?" Rick asked Michonne and Carl.

"Naw, ain't seen nothin'." Michonne replied.

"Good, I'm hoping that means we're going to get the jump on them." Rick said as he motioned for everyone to move out.

"I'm sorry I can't leave more people to help you, but I need everyone I can get." Rick said to Tara, Morgan and two sisters from hilltop, Jolene and Molly Fitzpatrick who had been two of the quickest studies.

"Hey, no worries, lawman, we got this." Molly said as they all shook hands.

"You just go and kick some Savior ass." Maggie said as Rick embraced her warmly.

"This is for Glenn." He said as he gave her shoulder one final squeeze as he turned to the group of renegade soldiers.

"Alright, no waiting, no hesitating, we're going to smash through that gate and we're taking no prisoners." Rick said.

"Let's just hope Dwight holds up his part of the bargain and don't double cross us." Michonne replied.

"Don't worry, if he doesn't, I am ready for that." Rick assured her.

"Now, let's move out, remember we're under radio silence from now on, we can't risk them listening in and getting the jump on us. Everyone knows what they are supposed to do, and if you have any questions, now's the time." Rick reminded everyone.

No one spoke up, telling Rick that everyone was ready.

"Let's move out!" Rick said as Daryl fired up the tank.

"You ready, Pirate girl?" Daryl called up to Charlotte, who was the gunner.

"Fuck yeah, let's do it!" She replied, Daryl grinned to himself as he put the tank into gear and let their army out.

* * *

Daryl didn't even hesitate, he smashed right through the gates to the Savior's main compound.

"Eat this, you sorry son of a bitches!" Charlotte yelled, her voice had a hint of deranged gleefulness to it as she loaded the gun, just like Abraham taught her and fired.

"Fucking son of a bitch!" Negan said as he was jolted out of bed as the blast shook the whole compound. he grabbed for his radio as he yanked his boots on.

"SIMON! Get every available body out here NOW!" he bellowed as the compound was rocked with another blast.

Simon and the other lieutenants and soldiers raced down to the servants quarters where they were met at ground level by Dwight and all the survivors who worked for points within their community.

"What the shit … !" Was all Simon got out as the entire group surged forward, he managed to take out the front line with his AK 47 before he and the other lieutenants and soldiers were overtaken by the vast numbers of survivors armed with nothing more than pipes and boards with nails through them.

Charlotte blew up the last of the compound just as a deafening blast rocked their tank.

"We're goin' over, brace yourself!" Daryl bellowed, they hung onto whatever they could.

Daryl was suddenly aware of a searing pain in his side, he lifted up his shirt to discover that he'd been stabbed a shard of metal that had come loose in the blast. He shrugged out of his over shirt and it around his middle and hoped it would stop the bleeding enough for them to get this done.

"Come on, we gotta get outta here, or else we'll be sitting ducks!" Daryl said as he grabbed Charlotte's arm and forced open the hatch and clamored out.

"You okay?" Charlotte asked Daryl as he grimaced.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Let's just go and get that son of a bitch!" he said as they headed toward what was left of the compound.

"What if the blasts killed him?" Charlotte said as they crept along the destroyed hallways.

"I want to know, I want to see his dead body for myself." Daryl ground out.

"We ain't never going to be able to search this place if we don't split up." Charlotte hissed.

As much as Daryl hated to admit it, she was right.

"Fine, I'll take this floor, you go upstairs, keep your walkie on! I'm on channel two." Daryl said as they parted ways.

Charlotte crept along, her desert eagle drawn, it was so dark that she could barely see her hand in front of her face. She crept around the next corner, staying glued to the wall for cover.

Suddenly, her left shoulder exploded with pain; she felt the bullet rip through her flesh and exit out the front of her body. A strong arm wrap around her, she tried to fight back, but she was pain was too great, even for her.

"No use in fighting, little girl." Negan's gruff voice hissed into her ear.

"There's no use, we've won, you're finished." Charlotte replied back through gritted teeth.

"That might be true, but if I am going out, I want to go out with a bang … pun intended." He said as they made their way towards the main entrance of the compound.

Charlotte shook her head and blinked her eye hard as the world around her started to grow fuzzy from loss of blood.

"If I'm going out, you're going with me." Charlotte said.

"I don't think you're in any position to be making threats like that, little girl." Negan replied with a chuckle.

All of the sudden, Negan was ripped away from her, she heard a grunt as he hit the ground hard.

Cursing, Negan rolled onto his back and found himself staring straight into the mouth of Daryl's pistol.

Negan opened his mouth to speak, and Daryl shot him point blank right in the face.

"Shut the fuck up." He said.

The adrenaline that had kept him going finally wore off, his strength finally left him and he collapsed next to Charlotte.

"I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer… but we might not make it out of this one." She said, her voice weak and barely above a whisper.

Through the haze of unconsciousness that threatened to claim him, he could faintly hear the voices of their group storming the compound and he smiled at her.

"If we don't, I'm goin' out the way I wanted to … with you." He said, tears streamed down her face as she looked into his eyes, which were normally an intense, unnatural shade of blue, had faded to a pale, slate grey.

"Ditto." She replied.

* * *

Rick and the others made quick work of the remaining Saviors with the help of the survivors.

"Search the entire compound and take no prisoners." He said into his walkie to the rest of the group.

"Thanks for your help, we couldn't've done it without you." Rick said as he and Dwight shook hands.

"Funny, I was going to say the same thing to you. A few tried revolting against Negan a couple of times, I don't have to tell you how that ended, we lost hope he could ever be stopped until you guys came along." Dwight replied as Rick's walkie crackled to life.

"Rick, get everyone up here, now!" Michonne's voice barked over the radio.

"Oh shit, are … are they …" Carl trailed off.

Rick bent down and felt for a pulse.

"They're alive, but just barely, come on, we have to hurry!" He ordered.

* * *

 _Author's notes: In case you didn't catch my author's note I left, after receiving an overwhelming response from my readers, I have decided to listen to them and revise this._


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